Vitalik Buterin opposed suggestions that Ethereum needs a hardfork in order to make the network ASIC resistant as Monero did. The threat of centralization is negligible.

Ethereum developers discussed the forthcoming release of Bitmain ASIC miners and concluded that there is now need to upgrade the network via hardfork, since they do not consider this threat to be serious, Trustnodes reports.

This is not bitcoin, miners are not in control, if they get evil, we’ll just speed up Casper’s development, Vitalik Buterin said.

According to him, ASIC mining is only 2.5 times more efficient than existing GPU miners. If there is a real threat, Ethereum, of course, can change the algorithm, but it will slow down other developments, explained Buterin, so he is inclined to consider such a decision as not optimal.

China-based Bitmain, the world's largest producer of ASIC miners, began selling equipment for Ethereum mining. ASIC miner Antminer E3 works with the Ethash algorithm, which is used in the Ethereum cryptocurrency.

Casper FFG, an update for Ethereum, which will make it possible to implement the hybrid consensus mechanism (Proof of Work (PoW) / Proof of Stake (PoS)), is in the second stage of testing. Geth and Parity customers may soon start integrating it, Buterin said, stressing the importance of their early inclusion in the process.

Currently, the Casper FFG is undergoing an audit and verification process, however, if a need to oppose ASIC threat arises, this stage may be shortened in order to implement the update as soon as possible, he added.

The verification process started in mid-March and will take about five and a half months, said Danny.

Nick Johnson, another Ethereum developer, said that the current situation does not justify an urgent fork, and that necessary upgrades can be implemented within the next scheduled fork.

After that, the developers discussed the possibility of creating an algorithm for confronting ASIC miners, and Buterin said that it can be developed, but only as a backup option and provided it does not hamper the rest of the work.

On 6 April, Monero launched a software upgrade via hardfork that is aimed to introduce a new consensus algorithm that will protect the network from the use of ASIC-miners.